New Zealand Memories Issue 155

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GENEALOGY Sad Tale of an Ancestral Bible Bruce Isted On Monday 14 August 2017, I gave a brief talk to the NZGS Whanganui Genealogy Branch about a family heirloom. From oral family history, it was thought the family Bible was given as a wedding gift on 3 September 1866 in Christchurch to my maternal 2 x great-grandparents, George Shepherd (born 1836 Hexthorpe, Yorkshire, England; died 1911 Wanganui) and Greta Sarah (Margaret) Hullen (born 1847 Whitechapel, London / Middlesex, England; died 1935 Timaru). However upon further research, this date proved to be not quite correct, though not far off it. The family Bible was more likely to have been given to Margaret when she reached 25 years of age (1872) by her parents (my maternal 3 x great-grandparents), Heinrich (Henry) Hullen (born c.1809 Hannover Province, Germany; died 1884 Waitohi NZ) and Ann(ah) Margretha Wiessner (born c.1813 Bavaria Province, Germany; died 1889 Waitohi NZ). Possibly in the 1830s this couple emigrated from Germany to England. Henry had several known occupations during his working life (20-30 years) in London: sugar baker, charcoal labourer, and skin dresser. On 29 August 1859 they and their children (including Margaret) emigrated to New Zealand aboard the ship Regina. Henry’s New Zealand occupation was a farmer. The Bible was published in 1871 by William Collins, Sons, & Company of Glasgow & London (the firm was known by that name between 1868-1880). It has dark brown full leather binding, with blind stamped, indented linear borders to front and rear, five raised bands to spine with gilt title in second compartment, bevelled edges, brown endpapers. It doesn’t have a clasp. Text is divided in two columns with two smaller columns of parallel passages between them. It has copious footnotes and is illustrated with some coloured as well as black and white pictures. Useful appendices are at the back. The Old Testament has 942 pages, then two pages on historical connections and The New Testament has its own title page, preceded by the family details pages. The New Testament has 288 pages, Scripture Chronology, Names etc, followed by Biblical Antiquities, Biblical Cyclopaedia and The Psalms of David. The whole bible amounts to around 1,383 pages (excluding pages with illustrations) and measures 340mm length x 250mm width and weighs 4.5kg. Sadly after page 944 (about three-quarters of the way through the Bible), the two most important pages for a genealogist had been cut out at some time (probably during World War One because of the anti-German sentiment) by my maternal great-grandmother Eliza Shepherd formerly Culley nee Wood (1871-1958). She married William Shepherd (1867-1928) on 21 March 1901. n George and Margaret Shepherd c.1870s; the photographs were possibly remounted in the early 1900s by Alfred Hardy of Timaru. The 1871 Family Bible where two pages containing family genealogy were removed. 48
STORY Preserving Fruit Anne Moore Dad had planted a good orchard of Burbank plums, peaches, nectarines, quinces and apples; this included the welcome Irish Peach apple which ripened in January. It did not have a long shelf life so was rarely seen in shops. We did not have a lawn mower, so the grass in the orchard and in front of the house was kept low with a scythe. The Bowler Brother, who came from England, had a well-established orchard and gave us Christmas plums, Early River and Green Gauge plums, Northern Spy and Russett apples and walnuts. In Autumn we could sit on our horse and pick walnuts off the tree till our hands were stained brown from the green pod over the nut. Fruit was peeled and cut up and pressed into two quart preserving jars with screw bands on the outside of the neck. A rubber band was put in the lowest spiral ready for the screw top. The jars were almost filled with hot syrup (sugar and water) and the metal screw top with its porcelain inner was screwed down lightly to allow for expansion and the jars placed in a large preserving pan of water which was boiled on the top of the stove until the fruit was cooked. The jars were lifted out, the lids screwed down tight and the jar turned upside down. As the fruit cooled it was watched for air bubbles inside the jar which meant that the lid was not air tight. Any leaking jars were uprighted, a circle of brown paper was cut and smothered in flour and water paste and smoothed over the lid and part way down the jar. The warmth of the jar and the fruit soon dried the paste and all were stacked away in the cupboard to be used in winter and spring. Housewives took pride in showing visitors their cupboard of jams and preserves. Lots of jam was made, sugar bought in 50 lb Hessian bags which made good oven cloths, peg bags and milking aprons. The fruit and sugar was boiled until a little, cooled in a saucer, set. It was then ladled into hot jars and covered with wax or brown paper and flour paste, or a lid. Jellies took at least two days; the fruit boiled and tied up in cheese cloth which was hung over a broom handle lying on a chair and allowed to drip all night into a bowl. Next day sugar was added to the juice, cup for cup, and again boiled until a little in a saucer set. It was then poured into hot jars for storage. The lovely clear colours depended on the fruit, pink for apples and peaches, red for raspberries and purple for blackberries. Blackberries were gathered from the river bank, the most luscious hanging over the deep pools. Dad had made us a canoe out of two sheets of corrugated iron in which we could float down the Waitoa picking blackberries. One summer there were some particularly luscious blackberries hanging under our bridge. With my billy, I slipped into the knee deep water and started picking when an eel came up and bit me on my calf. I was determined to get the blackberries so I stood on one foot and kicked and splashed with the other until I had all the berries. I had six small punctures, three top and three bottom, on my calf to prove my story. Years later when Dad owned a New Beauty Ford car we’d have a picnic day with friends on top of the Kaimai Range and fill two four gallon tins with huge blackberries. We would place 12-inch wide boards on top of the vines and walk into the bushes to pick. This large berry variety has disappeared now, only the small bramble kind is left in hedges and wastelands. Mid afternoon came all too soon and off home we went to milk cows with our purple hands. n 49
Page 1 and 2: APPETISER A Colman’s Promotion? A
Page 3 and 4: Editor Wendy Rhodes Graphic Design
Page 5 and 6: STORY Milk bar at the Opera House i
Page 7 and 8: STORY Submarine USS Halibut left, o
Page 9 and 10: WORLD WAR II I had arrived in Bari
Page 11: Standing the Test of Time Business
Page 15 and 16: Farming Holidays - Issue 151 Dear W
Page 17 and 18: INDEX and GENEALOGY LIST MAYBURY Ja

New Zealand Memories Issue 155

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